


The Next Big Adventure

by pherryt



Series: Super Heroes in Time and Space [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Power Pack
Genre: Comics, Counterweight, Destroyer - Freeform, Fluffy Ending, Kids, Kymellia, Marvel - Freeform, Molecula, Starstreak, TARDIS - Freeform, Time Travel, last minute rescues, my kid asked for this, my kid is now writing a sequel to this and she hasn't even read it yet, she's adding in another fandom try and guess which one, super heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9023152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Katie Power is responsible for a lot of things. She's the reason they found Whitey and Friday on the beach, got their powers and saved the world.She's also the reason they met the Doctor in the first place. It all circles back around and none of the children would have imagined where there next adventure with the Doctor would take them...





	1. Drawing Parallels

**Author's Note:**

> 1 - you don't have to read the first story to enjoy this one (but since both are short, consider it anyway?)
> 
> 2 - You don't need to be familiar with Power Pack to enjoy either of these stories. I think that i managed to slip in enough backstory into both that you will not be lost.
> 
> 3 - EVENTUALLY i want to make pictures for this. Last years story, the pictures already existed and i wrote a chapter based on each one. It's Christmas Eve and there's no way I can do that in time.
> 
> 4 - This is a sequel to a series of pictures and stories that I made for my daughter. Less than 30 minutes after receiving last years story as a xmas gift, she demanded this. it took me a LONG time to figure out what to write, but finally, here it is.
> 
> 5 - it's fluffy with a happy ending (though there are small threads of angst mixed in)
> 
> I have starred a couple of places for clarification and put explanations in the end notes. Because it didn't make sense to have exposition for that.
> 
>  
> 
> (Read this when you get the star - end notes keeps pushing to the wrong chapter for some reason when I try to use them on the first chapter: **Snark World ***  
>  – referring to the issues in which the 4 children are kidnapped by one of the Snark factions in order to gain an edge in the soon to come Snark Wars that would determine the next Snark Emperor. The plan was to steal the Kymellian gifted powers the children had. They almost succeeded, but the powers all combined in one vessel were too much for the Snark that took them to control. It burned him up and he lost control of them. Every time he lost one, one of the children gained it back – but the powers got mixed up. In the end, there was a short, but bloody war, a failed coup, and Katie almost died believing she was a monster because of her powers. Alex finally realized what he’d been doing to her all along.

Katie was no longer surprised when she heard the TARDIS land and someone completely different stepped out. She figured that was just the Doctors superpower. Even if he was technically an alien. After all,  _her_  superpowers had come from an alien, right? And they still counted, didn’t they? Therefore, the Doctor must also have superpowers. She wondered what all of them were.

Alex said he was super smart and that was a superpower in and of itself. “Just like Franklin’s Dad!” he said. “And  _everyone_  knows that Mr. Fantastic is a Super Hero.” Everyone also knew that Alex really looked up to Mr. Fantastic, but they nodded and agreed anyway and Alex looked on smugly. Katie suspected that Jack was on the verge of arguing the point just because, but for some reason he held his tongue. Which was highly unusual for Jack.

Instead, Jack said it was his magic spaceship that made him a Super Hero. Not all Super Heroes had special powers, just really cool toys. “Like Iron Man…” Jack said in awe. “Someday, I’m gonna meet him, too.”  The other three siblings nodded solemnly. Yes, that sounded right too, they thought, and promptly wrote it down on the list they were compiling.

Julie said it was the fact that he was over 900 years old!! She still couldn’t believe it when she’d been told how long the Doctor had lived. And then after finding out that it was also not necessarily a common trait on his home planet. “We’re all Gallifreyans, lass, but not all of us are Time Lords, and it’s the Time Lords that are granted extra life times to live, though most seem to squander that gift,” The Doctor had told her.

Katie’s older sister had simply sighed and looked off into space dreamily, “Just like some of my favorite fantasy stories of magical beings and long lived elves…” Julie’s eyes sparkled and her fingers twitched. Maybe she should write her  _own_ story, with magical long lived aliens in magic phone boxes. “Do you ever feel like we found Narnia?” She interrupted their brainstorming session to ask. Her siblings stared back at her with mixed looks of confusion and outright blankness.

“What’s Narnia?” Jack asked.

“I think it’s one of her fantasy stories.” Alex whispered poorly. Everyone heard him.

“It is! It’s great!” Katie cried out, “Julie’s been reading the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to me every night before bed!” She bounced in place. “We just reached the spot where the White Witch –“Julie’s hands clamped over Katie’s mouth and only muffled sounds came out. The six-year-old glared at her older sister and promptly proceeded to lick Julie’s hand.

“Ewwww! Katie, that’s gross!” Julie wiped her hands on her jeans, then got back to the business at hand. “Don’t give away the story, Katie. The boys should either read it on their own or join us for story time.” Julie looked at Alex and Jack and they were both shaking their heads.

“Um, nope. We’re good. Aren’t we good Jack?” Alex nudged his younger brother.

“Oh yeah, definitely good. We don’t have time for boring old stories like that.” Jack inched away from Alex and rubbed at his ribs.

“What’s boring?” a voice said directly behind them. The four children spun around to find a strange man in suspenders and a bow tie staring at them with a big grin. Behind him stood a familiar blue box and in the doorway was a woman with wildly curly hair.

“Doctor!” Katie yelled, and jumped up. She barreled into him and gave him a hug as the other three children got up a little slower.

“Doctor?” Alex asked.

“Hullo, Hullo! Right!” the gangly man clapped his hands together. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? New face – what do you think?”

Katie gasped and covered her mouth in horror. “Did you die  _again_  Doctor?”

“Well…maybe a little, but don’t you worry about me, Katie girl, I’m still kickin’! You can’t keep a good Time Lord down.” He beamed at her then stepped aside with a flourish, waving his arm wildly at his silent (so far) and grinning companion. “I’d like you to meet a friend of mine – this is River Song, she’s an Archaeology professor.” He added the last bit conspiratorially.

“Oh, like Indiana Jones?” Jack and Alex said excitedly, even Julie’s eyes lit up.

“Well, I don’t use a whip, but I  _do_  get to go on some of the strangest, most unbelievable adventures.” She winked at the children.

“Wow! That’s gotta be more interesting then Julie’s dumb old books.” Jack snorted at Julie.

“Hey! C.S. Lewis is a genius!” Julie protested.

“Who?” Jack asked belligerently.

“The author, dummy.” Julie stuck her tongue out at her youngest brother. He stuck his own out right back at her.

“Oh, I say, are you talking about the Narnia books? Those  _are_  a lot of fun!” The Doctor exclaimed. “I met the author too,” he snapped his suspenders and beamed, “I don’t like to brag buuuut, I might have been the inspiration for a few of his ideas.”

“You read those books too?” Alex asked hesitantly. He’d been ready to bash on them except he had been trying not to, since as the eldest (and the leader of their super hero team) he should be more mature and adult like. It was hard. Sometimes, Alex didn’t feel much like a kid anymore.

In fact, as the eldest at the ripe old age of 12, Alex Power _missed_ being able to be a kid. Especially after all that ugliness that had happened on  ** _Snark World.*_**   He was still ashamed that he hadn’t taken the Doctors warning and words seriously the last time they met and Alex couldn’t quite look him in the eye as the Doctor stood in their apartment.

“Indeed we did. They’re great for all ages.” River noted. “It’s considered a classic.”

Katie jumped in. “Yeah, there’s a little girl named Lucy - she’s the youngest too! - who finds a magic closet, and inside is a WHOLE NEW WORLD and she drags her brothers and her sister with her to go on a quest to save Narnia from the white witch. They meet talking beavers and a really special Lion and save Santa Claus and there’s a war going on against the Witch. They need to win to break a gigantic curse!”

“That…sounds pretty awesome actually.” Jack said in a disgruntled tone. He hadn’t wanted to admit to liking anything the girls liked. Alex thought about Katie’s words and then remembered what Julie had said before. Next, he remembered the Doctors words – _but the Doctor didn’t like to brag_ – and Alex looked between Julie and the Doctor, startled as he realized -

“Now that you mention it, I rather do feel a resemblance to your Narnia books.” Alex looked at his own brother and sisters, then over at the TARDIS which was bigger on the inside, practically a whole other world. And it was Katie who’d been Lucy, finding the TARDIS first and dragging her siblings into her acquaintance with the alien who piloted it. Come to think of it, Katie had also been the first to spot Friday down on the beach what felt like an eternity ago. That night, that one event, had changed all their lives.

If Katie hadn’t seen Friday crash into the water, if she hadn’t insisted on checking it out, they’d have been sitting ducks for the Snarks when they had attacked. Instead, Whitey had gifted them with his Kymellian powers and charged them with saving the world – starting with their own parents – before he’d died and left them his Smart ship, Friday.

Even as Alex reflected on all that, the Doctor and River started laughing at his statement. “Well now, who knew we were living in a fairy tale? Where’s Amelia Pond when you want her?” The Doctor turned to River with a grin. He’d always said that Amelia was a fairy tale name. He’d have to bring her and Rory to meet the children.

Or, maybe he should bring the children to Amy and Rory? Maybe they should go on an adventure? River pushed away from the TARDIS and stepped up close to the Doctor. She didn’t like the little glint he had in his eyes. This could bode nothing good.


	2. Meeting Fairy Tales

Amy halted as she stepped inside the TARDIS. Grumbling about sudden stops and no warnings, Rory barely managed not to slam into her. She raised her eyebrow and pursed her lips. “What are you, running a daycare now?”

“Ah! It’s the Ponds!” The Doctor clapped his hands together and almost skipped down the ramp to greet Amy and Rory. Rory rolled his eyes.

“It’s Williams, actually. We had a wedding and all, remember? You were there.”

“Pish posh, you’ll always be Ponds to me.” He spun about. “Right, I want you to meet the Power family…” Amy and Rory looked past him to see the four children that had caused her to stop in her tracks to begin with. Dressed in brightly colored one piece skinsuits and enormous white boots, the children were poking about the console under the supervision of one River Song, Archaeologist Extraordinaire. Amy and Rory exchanged glances as the Doctor continued to talk, running back up the ramp as he did so.

“Right then, from oldest to youngest, we’ve got Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie. Why don’t you say hi?” The Doctor pointed at each one in turn – Alex in yellow, Julie in Blue, Jack in white and Katie in pink. The children all chimed in with a hello as the Ponds echoed it back.

Soon, the group – split evenly down the middle of adults vs children (though some would argue that the Doctor was an adult in age only) – had spread out through the control room and were telling stories of their adventures and the adversaries they’d met.

It was after one rousing tale of the Cybermen that the Doctor had met – on more than one occasion, across both time and space and even, apparently, dimensions – that Katie leaned in close to him and whispered, “Are Cybermen worse than the Daleks?”

“Ehhhh….it depends on your point of view. In the end, they both want the same thing and most people find them hard to eliminate.” The Doctor prevaricated.

“In other words, kid, bad enough.” Amy rolled her eyes and offered. “Though I’ve had more run ins with the Daleks to be honest, and we’ve always come out ahead.”

“Yeah, well, I’d really like to avoid doing that again in the future.” Rory grumbled from behind her.

Katie shuddered at the mention of the Daleks. Her brothers and sisters hadn’t seen them, hadn’t seen what she’d done, how out of control she’d gotten. It wasn’t a pleasant memory for her.

“On the bright side,” The Doctor spoke up jovially, his eyes twinkling, “You children actually stand a better chance against them then _we_ do on any given day. Why, if Katie were the type of person to do so, she could wipe them all out herself while barely lifting a finger. Not that I’m asking you to…I’m just remembering the versatility of your Kymellian gifted power. It’s amazing!” He hurried to add on. He grew puzzled though as she shook her head.

“Oh no, I don’t do that anymore,” Katie said in a small voice, hunching inwards a little as if afraid that he’d be disappointed to find out she’d changed.

“I’m…not asking you to…” The Doctor paused, standing at an awkward angle as he tilted his head a little and looked from Katie to anyone else around her as if that might clear up his confusion.

“No, Doctor, what she means is, our powers got all mixed up. Didn’t you notice the color change?” Alex spoke up when Katie just stared, trying to figure out what had confused her Doctor.

“I didn’t realize the colors were relevant.” The Doctor exclaimed. He leaned forward. “Fascinating! Tremendous! What do they mean?”

“It’s the symbols that are the most important.” Julie said. “See, I have a cloud on my suit and I have the ability to alter my molecular density. I can be really tiny and solid, or as big a cloud as I want. At least I think so? I’ve never tried to see how far I could spread out.” She got a thoughtful look on her face and Alex panicked,

“Julie, I’m not sure that’s a smart idea – what if you spread out too far and get separated? What if part of you gets trapped in something, or, or, you can’t ever pull yourself together again?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Her face fell. Julie had thought she’d learned something new that Jack hadn’t known. She wanted to prove she could do something useful with her ability besides providing cloud cover. Now she understood why Jack was always grumpy about it.

“Yeah, and see this design here?” Jack jerked a thumb to point at his chest, puffing it out. “Now look what happens when I become Counterweight!” He crouched down and pushed up off the floor, nearly careening into the ceiling as his predominantly white costume turned nearly all black, except for bands around his wrists, legs and neck that now matched the symbol that had previously been showing.

“Whoa, are you floating?” Amy called out in fascination.

“Yep! I can affect my own gravity and the gravity of anyone or anything I touch. Right now, I’ve canceled my own gravity so I can float. And with a little legwork…“ Jack pushed off a wall and spread his arms, grabbing one of the poles as he started by, swinging around and around with little effort, “I can almost fly!” he crowed.

“With enough aerosol cans and a set of wings, you  _can_  fly.” Alex said bitterly, thinking fondly of the wings Jack had destroyed almost right away.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jack waved his hand dismissively. “That’s all well and good until you get yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere and you run out of fake propulsion. My way is  _much_  better. Besides, that gets expensive and we had to use up all our piggy banks just to replace the supers fire extinguisher, that  _you_  used, remember?”

Amy looked back and forth between the two young boys and snorted. “Let me guess, Jack, your brother had your power first?”

“Yeah, and this is  _so_  much cooler than some dumb cloud power.” Jack bragged.

Rory looked over at Julie. “You said  _you_  have the cloud power, so it was Jacks’ first?” Julie nodded.

“Yeah, and now Katie has  _my_  old power and Alex has hers.” Julie answered. “Which is good ‘cause Katie kept getting into trouble being the only one who couldn’t fly somehow. And now she gets to be the only one who can  _actually_  fly and not just fake it.”

The Doctor turned to Alex with a smirk. “So, you have Katie’s power, hmm? I guess that does explain your suit. The symbol matches the energy discharges your sister could make, and the color matches those same energy – oh, she called the power balls, that’s right…” he paused a second and then whirled in place to look at each kid in turn, his face getting this goofy excited look. “Wait, do you all have new codenames now to go with the new suits and the new powers?”

Katie nodded vigorously. “I’m Starstreak now! Because I leave a pretty trail when I fly.”

Jack pouted. “I already told you mine.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Julie just beamed as she answered, proud of her clever name, sure it would prove how smart she was, “Molecula, Mistress of Density. But really just Molecula.”

Alex, strangely, stayed silent and the Doctors’ grin grew as the boy became more and more uncomfortable as every head turned to him. He huffed and finally said just one word, “Destroyer.” He looked away, refusing to meet the Doctors eyes.

“Really, now? And how much do you destroy, Alex? Is the power all that you had hoped it would be?” Alex’s shoulders hunched together at the Doctors question as Amy, Rory and River all cast their friend (and so much more) strange, considering looks. Alex mumbled something and the Doctor leaned in closer. Alex flinched and stalked away, leaving the stunned group behind.

While Alex stormed off, the children resumed chattering with Amy and Rory, as if used to that behavior. Katie, however, pulled away, eyeing Alex as he stood talking quietly with the Doctor. River joined her the smallest child and sat beside Katie on the ramp, angling her head down, mass of curls brushing across Katie’s pigtails. “What’s with him?” River asked quietly.

“When I had that power, Alex was always trying to make me into a monster, a weapon that he could use to kill things or, or destroy them. And I hurt people even when I didn’t mean to. I hated it.” Katie looked down at the deck plating as she kept her voice as low as she could. She could see through the floor, she suddenly realized with surprise.

“That explains why the Doctor is so smug.” Katie looked up at her.

“What d’ya mean, Professor?”

“I mean that if I know the Doctor at all – and I like to think I know him better than he knows himself – he’s about to use this opportunity to lecture your brother about how he treated you, what he tried to make you do. I’m betting that Alex isn’t any better at using his power to hurt people than you were, am I right?” River suggested.

Katie nodded with wide eyes. “How’d you know?”

River shrugged casually, “Call it, an educated guess. Alex looks like someone who’s come to the realization of what he’s done and how much it hurt you a little too late. The Doctor will likely take it easy on him, for that reason – the Doctor would be harder on your brother if Alex hadn’t made any kind of realization - but he’ll want to drive the point home first. Make sure he’s learned his lesson for good.”

Pausing, River looked down at Katie who was looking up thoughtfully, “But I’m betting your brother feels like he’s a coward because he can’t do what he always said he would, and that is something the Doctor is  _also_  well suited for. Your brother couldn’t get any better counseling than that of Time Lord who refuses to hurt people himself. And that’s a lot harder to do, though not everyone realizes it.” River had never thought _she_ would be giving a child advice. But here she was.

They stared at each other as River wondered how much of that had gone right over the 6 ½ year old’s head. From the stories she’d heard today and beforehand, the children were apparently the kids of a couple of geniuses, and the kids were pretty smart themselves. River wouldn’t put it past the child to piece it together, even if it was on her own time. “And if all that’s true, I’m guessing your brother is feeling a little guilty right now.”

“Yeah, but I still kinda hate him for it.” Katie paused and looked up at River with worried eyes. She swallowed and whispered even quieter than before, “Does that make me a bad person? He’s my brother, I’m s’posed to love ‘em, but sometimes I really, really hate him. He just makes me so mad.”

Arms wrapped around Katie and she turned around, throwing her own arms around her sister. “It’s okay, Katie-Bear. Alex makes me mad sometimes too. But he doesn’t mean to be so mean. He’s just a kid like us…and he feels like he has to be an adult just ‘cause he’s the oldest. He’s just not very good at it yet.”

River watched in amazement as the two girls whispered back and forth to each other. They were definitely the children of geniuses, and their compassion was great. No wonder the Doctor had been drawn to them. She’d heard him protest on occasion that he really didn’t get along with kids, but he proved himself a liar nearly every day.

Eventually, the Ponds called it a day and left. The Doctor set the TARDIS in motion, letting the children help – with supervision of course. Katie flipped a switch and an alarm started to sound. She jumped back even as Jack turned on her.

“What did you do?” Jack demanded harshly.

“Shush, you be nicer to your sister. She didn’t do anything. That’s a distress call.” River glared at the youngest boy and he slunk away even as he covered his ears against the alarm just like everyone else was doing.

The Doctor grinned over at River, excited for another new adventure. “How mad do you think the Ponds will be if we take off on another adventure without them?”

River smirked. “I think mom and dad could deal this once.”

The kids looked at each other in confusion, mouthing silently at each other, “Mom? Dad?” Neither Amy nor Rory had looked old enough to have a kid as grown up as River was. They were absolutely confused but nobody looked like they’d be enlightening them.

Then Julie whispered to the others, eyes wide, “We’re in a Time Machine! Maybe Amy and Rory don’t _know_ they’re River’s mom and dad yet…” Ooooh, now that made sense, the children thought.

 

 


	3. Distress Calls and Daring Rescues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! It's Whitey (Aelfyre Whitemane) - but the kids never expected to see _him_ again...or like this at all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Pencil sketch - this is something I definitely want to clean up, ink and color. My daughter chose what pictures I'd be drawing this time around so despite having a massive to do list, i did mother daughter bonding time by working on this and one more.
> 
> the nice version will have to wait a while though.

“Okay then, let’s see who sent you, shall we?” the Doctor darted about the console in response to the sudden alarms ringing over the control room. River followed him while the children covered their ears and hoped it would end soon.

 

“Who’s in distress, Doctor?” River knew his real name, of course, but she never used it, not willing to break the Doctor’s trust.

“It’s…from Kymellia.” The Doctor glanced over at the children uncertainly. Normally, he’d just run of and answer it but…children – no matter their powers – were still children. One of them gasped – he wasn’t sure which – and they all started to clamor for a rescue operation.

“Doctor you can’t seriously be thinking – “ River started to say but when the Doctor turned and gave her a look – well, whatever she saw there made her stop. “Well then, I guess we’re doing this.” She stepped forward. “But if we’re going on a rescue mission, we’re doing it my way.”

The Doctor protested and Katie spoke up. “Which way is your way?”

“Silent. He always leaves the parking brake on.” River winked at the little girl.

“Hey! I like that sound! It brings hope wherever it is heard.” The Doctor protested again. It sounded like an old argument and the kids giggled because it sounded like their parents when they teased each other.

“Doctor, I think we can all agree after the last few years that not everyone is happy to see you. I’m living proof of that.” River countered.

“You don’t like the Doctor?” Alex asked hesitantly as River started moving her hands over the TARDIS controls. That certainly hadn’t been the impression he had gathered.

“Oh no, don’t get me wrong, I do! But others did not and they used _me_ to get to _him._ They almost succeeded too.” River barely looked up as she worked.

“What happened?” Julie gasped.

“I killed him.” River looked up at the children, “Twice.” They looked back at her in horror, Katie’s eyes filled with tears.

“I got better.” The Doctor protested again. He reached a hand out to touch the console and River slapped it away.

Katie sniffled, trying valiantly to hold back the tears. “Is that why he looks different again?”

River paused in surprise. “Oh, you know him well enough to know that?” She shot a glance at the Doctor before looking at Katie again, “But no, actually, he really did get better. Apparently, I’m not just that good of a shot.” River ignored the amused snort from the other side of the console that the Doctor had retreated to with a pout and instead, she announced, “We’re here,” while leaving everything else unsaid.

Everyone looked around in confusion. Katie, more familiar with the TARDIS than her siblings, spoke up, “Really? But I didn’t feel us moving or, or hear us arrive either.”

“Exactly!” River’s eyes twinkled, holding a finger by her face, “No parking brake this time.” She pretended not to notice the Doctor was still pouting.

Katie, still sniffling away her tears, patted him on the arm. “It’s okay, Doc.”

“Thank you, Katie. Now, let’s see what we’ve got.” The gangly Doctor whirled around to check the multitude of screens and readouts hidden among the rest of the TARDIS controls. “Oh! It’s a Cyberman advance party! Look, that one’s cornered a poor Kymellian child.”

“Is that bad?” Julie asked. Kymellians had powers, didn’t they? So the cornered one could fight back. And even if they couldn’t, most could teleport. No, wait, she was almost positive Kofi or his dad or someone had said that _all_ Kymellians could teleport to one degree or another.

The Doctor frowned at her and her question before answering, “Extremely!” He turned to find the Power children already opening the door of the TARDIS and taking off. “Wait!” he called out after them.

“And that’s why I didn’t think this was a good idea.” River strode past him without bothering to look him in the eye. “Let’s go rescue your young friends. At least it’s just one, lonely little Cyberman.”

“It’s never just one,” the Doctor muttered glumly before he followed after her.

Katie, Alex, Jack and Julie charged out of the TARDIS and headed straight for the Cyberman. They didn’t recognize this part of Kymellia, but it looked a lot like the Technocrats version they were familiar with - the artificial world he’d created when their home planet had been destroyed due to a matter/antimatter accident similar to the one their dad had almost recreated by accident (and that the Snarks would do anything to know how to replicate).

But they weren’t thinking about that now, not when a Kymellian kid was in danger, for they could see that now, quite clearly. For whatever reason, this kid wasn’t capable of fighting back, or even teleporting far enough away to be useful.

It became clearer as they watched, dizzied by the constant, short hops the little horse like being continued to make – disappearing and reappearing in the teleport whorl they’d come to associate with their ‘cousin’, Kofi. The Kymellian was desperate to remain ahead of the metal man they assumed was the Cyberman the Doctor had warned them about.

Alex quickly looked for something to disintegrate as Julie rushed ahead to cast an obscuring fog around the Cyberman to dim his vision. Given half a chance, the young Kymellian managed to get pretty far ahead of the invader, though he stumbled to a halt at the sight of the human children before him. Further back, River and the Doctor emerged from the Police Box.

The Kymellian was breathing hard, fear covered his face and he was about to dart off in a different direction when Katie flew to his side, leaving a rainbow trail.

“I’m Starstreak! We’re here to save you!” Katie exclaimed, weaving circles around him. “Hurry! This way, follow me!”

She circled about again and led the way back to the blue box that stood out starkly against the pristine white of the artificial world. Alex was starting to give off a healthy yellow glow.

“Alex!” Julie shrieked. The children turned to notice her cloud form was almost on top of them. “He’s got sensors or magic eyes or something, ‘cause he’s not stopping!”

Within seconds, the Doctor stood among them, trying to herd the children back, “Get inside, quick – the TARDIS is invulnerable to Cyberman attack.” River held back even as the Doctor had rushed into the fray. She held the door open – which wasn’t strictly necessary – and had her blaster up and at the ready.

The Kymellian youth hesitated at the sight of the two full grown aliens, and glanced dubiously at the small, blue structure splashing its color against the sterile walls.

“I promise, it’s bigger than it looks, now quick! Before that Cyberman reaches us.” The Doctor pushed. “They may be slow, but they are implacable and will not stop.”

As they talked, Julie abandoned her cloud form as she saw how truly ineffective it was against the enemy. Instead, she attempted to buy time for everyone by hovering over the cyborg and lining herself up in preparation for the Julie Hammer. In a rush, she pulled in all her molecules as closely as she could pack them, becoming a nearly 70 pound weight, compacted into a size smaller than someone’s hand. She’d lined up perfectly after choosing the highest height above the Cyberman she dared to go before she allowed herself to go crashing down on the Cyberman’s’ head.

Stumbling to a stop as she clanged off it, the Cyberman actually shook its head to clear it before it could resume its stalking, heavy footed walk. Immediately, Julie dispersed her molecules again, so it had no chance to grab at anything solid and made her way back to the TARDIS.

Katie escorted the Kymellian inside and almost crashed into him as he came to a halt. He whirled around to watch the scene unfold before them. Jack found something heavy and lifted it, tearing it right out of the ground and throwing it at the Cyberman even as the Doctor called out again, “Just get inside! The boy is safe.” Jack and Julie listened, leaving a now heavily glowing Alex just outside the door as they zipped past him and inside. “Alex, you too!” The Doctor was afraid to grab the glowing boys’ arms. He didn’t know if he could do so without being burned.

“I can’t come back until I discharge this energy. It’s too dangerous to hold too much for too long.” Alex called back, recalling all those times Katie had exploded with a trip or something equally as small. Alex could only imagine the kind of damage he could do should he do that inside the TARDIS. They might never get home.

He aimed as close to the Cyberman as he dared to without hitting it, remembering guiltily all those times he’d chided and yelled at Katie for missing. Yet here he was aiming to miss deliberately.

Alex had honestly thought using his power would be a piece of cake, that no one would dare defy him because _he_ wouldn’t miss. But when push came to shove, he found he couldn’t do it any more than Katie had been able to. It had been hard to come to terms with that. Still was, actually, despite the talk he’d had with the Doctor about it. About how he’d treated Katie, about his doubts of himself.

As Alex let go and the powerballs hit the ceiling of the structure, collapsing it on the Cyberman, burying it – however temporarily that turned out to be – the Doctor reached over and grabbed his arm. Yanking him into the safety of the TARDIS. The door slammed shut of its own accord, like the ship was alive.

Maybe it was, Alex thought. After all, the Kymellians built the smart ships, like Friday, and Friday was most definitely alive.


	4. What's in a Name?

The young Kymellian they’d rescued from the Cyberman stood there, pure white skin, wearing the standard white clothing of pretty much every Kymellian they’d ever met. The horse like features didn’t even phase them anymore, as easy for the children to tell apart as humans were.

Though they didn’t recognize him, he reminded the children of their ‘cousin’ Kofi. Not that they knew all that many Kymellians on a personal basis, they could count on two hands the number of Kymellians they’d talked to, and on only one hand the ones they’d actually liked.

Then he spoke, and – not for the first time in their short lives - their world turned upside down. “My name is Aelfyre Whitemane – who are you?”

“Whitey?” Almost as one, the children gasped out his name. They well remembered the first Kymellian they ever met. The one that saved their lives and granted them his powers so they could save their parents and the world. They’d known him for only a brief few moments before he’d died of the injuries dealt him by the Snarks.  

To the poor Kymellians shock and surprise, he was rushed by all four of them and engulfed in a squeezing tight hug with tears and babbling. Overcome, he popped out of the little bubble they’d created around him and they collapsed inward at the sudden vacuum. From their tangle on the floor, they turned and looked around till they spotted him sitting on the railing several feet away. His eyes were wide and confused.

“I’m sorry, do I know you? What are you?” he asked confused. The Doctor and River watched the scene unfolding. “And where am I? Are you sorcerers?”

Instead of answering his questions, the children all started exclaiming at once, creating a cacophony of sound.

“I can’t believe you’re still alive!” Katie jumped up, clapping her hands together, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Don’t you remember us?” Jack demanded.

“I’m so happy to see you! We have so much to tell you – so much has happened since we met! But I don’t understand why you look like a kid…?” Julie’s enthusiastic response suddenly gave way to confusion.

Alex started to speak but then snapped his mouth shut, his eyes going nearly as wide as the Kymellian known as Aelfyre. Alex looked over at the Doctor, then back at Aelfyre and back to the Doctor. When his mouth opened again, it was to ask the doctor a question that ground all other conversation to a halt.

“Doctor, did we…I mean are we…is…” Alex took a deep breath and tried again, “You said the TARDIS is a time machine, right? Is…that why he looks so young? Why he doesn’t remember us?”

The Doctor nodded solemnly, approvingly at the eldest Power. “Indeed. We are many years in your past, before you were even born, in fact.” The Doctor looked over at all the children. “Your friend does not remember you, because as far as he is concerned, this is the first time he’s ever met you.” The Doctors face turned stern. “That means you have to be  _very_  careful what you say. You can’t tell him too much of his own future, what you know of it. Do not tell him how you met or why. By telling him, it could alter not only _his_ future, but your own. And from what Katie here has told me, that could have disastrous consequences.”

The four children looked back and forth between the Time Lord and the Kymellian with wide eyes and nodded, though not all of them completely understood. “What can we tell him, Doctor?” Alex asked quietly. “He deserves to know, right? I mean, we can at least tell him who we are, can’t we?”

“Of course you can.” The Doctor smiled at the children, now numbering five as River shook her head.

“Maybe Amy was right, maybe you  _are_  running a daycare now.” She grinned at the Doctor.

“Well, so what if I am. They’re all gifted children.” He sniffed. They watched the children identifying themselves and spoke quietly. “We’ll have to be very careful. In fact, we should get this resolved and the Kymellian returned to his home as soon as we can…we can’t risk him learning too much about his future.” River looked at the Doctor questioningly.

“Spoilers?”

“Very much. This Aelfyre changes their lives…changes the whole of Earth’s history, even that of the galaxy though most won’t realize they owe him their very existence.”

“Does the Earth have a new defender?” She teased.

“Oy! I’m not the only defender of the planet…there are many who can claim that title these days.”

An alarm rang through the TARDIS just as it shuddered, causing a wave of upset through the control room. Alex grabbed the railing to keep from falling to the ground while his siblings used their various powers to keep from hitting anything – instead of slamming into the railing, Julie let it pass through her harmlessly, while Jack simply floated. Katie had a harder time of it, since her gift was meant for speed and not hovering.

In her own efforts to avoid slamming into the railing or headlong into a wall, she collided with Aelfyre instead who had instinctively ported from his position on the rail to another location that was more secure. They landed in a heap.

“Ow…” he rubbed at his head. “I’ve never teleported anyone but myself before.” Katie rubbed at her own head.

“How come you didn’t use any of your other powers?” she asked.

“What powers?” He cocked his head at her.

“What…why… _your_  powers!” She blurted, confused. They may have gone back in time, but he should still  _have_  his powers, right?

Aelfyre took a good look at the little girl and as the TARDIS settled, at the other 3 children. He noted the costumes they wore, their style and symbols. He reached out to touch the fabric on her arm and looked up at her. “This is of Kymellian make, isn’t it? And…you four have…the Kymellian powers of old, but you’re not Kymellians. I don’t understand?”

“Yo –“ Katie didn’t get any further before Julie slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Shhh, Katie-bear…be careful.” Julie admonished. Katie glared at her older sister and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I wasn’t gonna tell.” She pouted.

“You were.” Jack pounced from above them, hovering. Aelfyre looked up, startled yet again. Until today, he’d never seen any but his own kind before. He’d never left his world, as artificial as it was. And yet here he was, perhaps a little shell shocked or…what was it the Technocrat called it? Culture shocked? The Technocrat discouraged all outside contact but couldn’t stop it completely, not if they wanted to stay safe from their neighbors, of which the Zn’rx* were one.

“I think it might be safe to say,” the boy that Aelfyre thought was the oldest slid down beside him on the deck of the strange ship they were in. Alex, he thought, the boys’ name was Alex. “That we  _are_ from your future – and we met you when you were older, when you were grown up. We’ve been to Kymellia and it was a Kymellian who gave us our powers. But I guess…they work for us differently than they do Kymellians? ‘cause we’re humans, from Earth. Do you know where Earth is?”

The young Kymellian shook his head. “No, I’ve never left our planet before. Can you show me your powers? Only the great Kymellian Sorcerers have powers like yours.” Aelfyres tone was hushed, reverent, his eyes shining.

The Doctor rolled his own eyes at River.  He was about to interrupt when River placed a staying hand on his own arm. “Let them be. Seeing their powers may calm the poor boy, since it’s something familiar and he’s had a bit of an upsetting day.”

“Well, of course, he has!” The Doctor scoffed at the idea that he didn’t understand what the Kymellian had just gone through. “His whole world’s just been turned upside down and inside out. He’s met aliens for the first time – decidedly unfriendly ones – and they almost chopped his head off and assimilated him!”

“Do you think that Technocrat had anything to do with that?” River inquired quietly as they watched the five children interacting.

“Well…only one way to find out!” He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed. In unison, they bellowed, “Let’s go ask him!” The two moved about in a flurry of seemingly random actions, kicking up so much noise and activity that even the children stopped to look at them curiously.

“What’s going on?” Aelfyre asked timidly.

“I dunno. But we’re in a space ship that can teleport anywhere it wants in time and space. I wonder where we’re going next!” Julie mused aloud.

“Teleport?” the Kymellian panicked. “Wait! Where are we going? What about my family?”

“Don’t worry, the Doctor will bring you back anywhere you want to go. But…you can teleport whenever you want, can’t you? You could leave if you really wanted to.”

Aelfyre slumped, looking at the floor. “I’m not very good at it yet. Short jumps only. And I think something in here is blocking me. I can’t seem to leave.”

“Oh, that’s probably the TARDIS shields. It keeps the bad things out.” Aelfyre looked up at the Doctors words, then turned to look at the four children before him.

“Can’t any of  _you_  try teleporting?” Aelfyre asked them.

“We can’t do that. That’s the one thing yo- we didn’t get when we got our powers. It almost didn’t work…it’s like, the um…Kymellian who gave us the powers had all of them but they split up weirdly and we each got just a part and I think you need more than one to be able to teleport.”

“That’s not how it works for Kymellians.” Aelfyre protested. “Anyone can teleport, but only the sorcerers can master the other powers. Anyone who does commands great respect, but there hasn’t been all that many in a long time. Since before the catastrophe that destroyed our world.”

“When the matter/antimatter device malfunctioned?” Alex asked.

“You know about that?” Aelfyre exclaimed fearfully.

“You…could say that.” Alex hedged, suddenly realizing they were getting too close to forbidden territory. He looked uncertainly for the Doctor only to realize the five of them had been abandoned. “Oh great,” he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Sn’rx is the Kyemllian word for Snarks. The children adopted the 'Snark' term because it was easier to say.


	5. When In Doubt, Just Ask!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor confronts the Technocrat and then comes up with a brilliant plan...maybe this _wouldn't_ be the last time they'd be able to see Whitey...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Pencil sketch - this is something I definitely want to clean up, ink and color. My daughter chose what pictures I'd be drawing this time around so despite having a massive to do list, i did mother daughter bonding time by working on this and one more.
> 
> the nice version will have to wait a while though.
> 
> p.s. Drawing Kymellians is HARD ! those Freaking LEGS!!!  
> P.P.S. I originally went "Crap! There's no room for Jack!" then i remembered, oh yeah, he's Counterweight. He can go whereever the heck he wants. let's make him stand on the wall. :D

The children barreled out of the TARDIS with no fear, the Kymellian following behind them more tentatively. They had already lost sight of the Doctor and River. They looked around.

“I thought the Doctor brought us someplace different?” Katie asked. She stared at the stark white walls of the Technocrats artificial planet.

“He did. This isn’t the same place we encountered that Cyberman.” Alex answered. He pointed, “See, I collapsed the hall on top of him, but here there’s no damage at all.”

“Okay, but where did they go? And why?” Julie asked.

“Who cares…I don’t like it here.” Jack grumped.

“Why not?” Aelfyre asked. The children stared at him in disbelief.

“It’s so…plain.” Jack finally answered.

“There’s almost no color,” Katie complained.

“There should be nature,” Julie said emphatically, “Green trees and grass, colorful flowers, cuddly creatures and rain and wind and sun…you know, nature.”

“There are the gardens…” Aelfyre protested.

“What are they like?” Alex asked.

The young Kymellian shrugged in embarrassment. “I uh, don’t actually know. We’re not allowed to go inside. You need special permission to see the Gardens. Only those with rank and privilege can go inside.”

“See, that’s just not fair!” Jack argued as he stomped down the hall, “I really don’t like this place and I don’t trust the Technocrat either.” He rounded a corner and disappeared, leaving his brother and sisters and the Kymellian to scramble after him. When they did so, they found him halted before a grand door that had been wedged open. Through it they could see the Technocrats office with the Doctor and River lounging at their ease before him.

The children edged closer, hoping to hear without being seen. Aelfyre trembled. The Technocrat was a legend and rarely was he seen by anyone, much less someone was lowly as him.

“-don’t know what you’re talking about.” The Technocrat protested.

“You don’t, do you? You, with your love of technology, your disdain for biologics, you’ve never considered letting the Cybermen come here and do a little…upgrading for you?”

“I would _never_ entertain such a thought!” The Technocrat protested.

Alex muttered, “Yeah, right. Like we don’t know you better than that.” Julie hushed him with a dark look and a glance towards Aelfyre. She was finding it easier than she would have thought _not_ to call him Whitey, because to her, it was like he was a completely different being.

Aelfyre was still trembling and didn’t seem to have caught Alex’s hasty statement. Alex breathed out a sigh of relief as he glanced back at Julie. She rolled her eyes at him and glared, “You need to be more careful, Alex.” She whispered.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now shhh, I can’t hear what they’re saying.” Alex hastily whispered back. He didn’t want to hear about his slip up. He’d gotten lucky, he knew that. But his mind was whirling. Maybe the Technocrat was telling the truth – maybe he hadn’t asked the Cybermen here for the…upgrading…the Doctor had mentioned.

But the Doctor obviously didn’t trust the Technocrat and Alex couldn’t disagree with that sentiment. Something about the Kymellian world leader set him on edge too. Looking at his siblings, he could tell they were as uneasy about the Kymellian as he was. He looked over at Aelfyre and saw only awe in his face.

Nuts. That wasn’t a good sign, was it? Movement called Alex’s attention forward again and he saw the Doctor and River rising. They stood, the Doctor holding out his hand to the Technocrat who looked down at it disdainfully. With a sneer, he finally accepted the Doctors hand and yanked it away again as soon as he could get out of the Doctors hearty handshake.

The children scrambled back, trying to remain unseen when the Doctor and River headed their way. River gave the Doctor a look as he halted and stared at the children in surprise.

River pushed past him, murmuring, “I don’t see why you’re surprised. Have you _met_ them? It’s kind of what they do…” She started herding the children forward in front of her, hoping her and the Doctor would block the sight of them from the Technocrat and his cameras, enough at least, that they wouldn’t be seen clearly.

“Oy! I know them better than you do!” The Doctor protested before following along.

“No, Doctor, I really don’t think you do.” River chided in response. The children scooted around the corner without a protest and they all piled back into the TARDIS without a word, letting the door shut behind them again. The Doctor ran down the ramp and headed for the console.

“All right! Where to next?” The Doctor called out. He looked up when he was met with silence. The children were looking at each other uncertainly. “What’s the matter kids?”

“Shouldn’t…shouldn’t we make sure the Cybermen are gone?” Katie asked.

“Katie, honey,” The Doctor knelt down before the youngest child, “It’s all taken care of. The Technocrat has it under control. He might not be the most trustworthy of characters, but he’s against any tech that’s not his own. He’ll take them out.”

Aelfyre looked at them all nervously. “Is it safe to go home?”

“Yes. Turns out I was wrong and that _was_ the only one here. If the Technocrat can take him out, it’s likely they won’t return.” The Doctor admitted.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Jack blurted.

“The Cybermen have so many objectives and advance parties sent out that they’ll focus on the easier conquests first. This gives the Technocrat time to come up with defenses specifically aimed at the Cybermen. It’s just too bad that more Kymellians don’t have the abilities you children have, the Cybermen wouldn’t stand a chance.” The Doctor explained to the stunned children. Aelfyre looked calmer, more thoughtful as he chewed on the Doctors words. Finally, he looked up at the Doctor.

“Can you take me home now?” the Kymellian asked. The Doctor nodded quietly, a small smile twitched at his lips.

“What? But we barely got the chance to talk to you!” Julie protested. “I wanted to learn so much more…I wanted – “ The Doctors hand came to rest on her shoulder and she paused, looking up at him. He shook his head.

“It’s better this way Julie. The longer you spend time with each other, the more likely one of you will slip up and tell him something he shouldn’t know.”

“But it’s not fair!” Julie cried out as Katie lunged at the Kymellian, wrapping him in a hug. This time, Aelfyre didn’t pop away.

Instead, he awkwardly hugged her back, “Don’t worry, I won’t forget you, any of you. I look forward to the day we meet in the future.”

Katie started bawling, since she knew what the horse like alien didn’t, that the next time he saw them, the first time _they_ met _him_ , he’d die. Julie was having a hard time holding back the tears and even Alex and Jack sniffled, their lips wobbling. Each of them took a turn giving Aelfyre farewell hugs and trying not to dissolve into tears the same way Katie already had.

“Crybaby.” Jack sniffled.

River broke in quietly. “Aelfyre, is this where you live?” He looked up at the screen she’d angled towards him and he broke into a grin.

“Yes! How did you know?” He grinned at her. River grinned back and the Doctor winked.

“It’s what we do.” The Doctor bragged. “C’mon, time for you to go home.” The Doctor started guiding the Kymellian down the ramp. At the door, Aelfyre turned and waved at the children as the TARDIS door swung open. He looked back out and disappeared in a teleport whorl, the door closing behind him.

Katie threw herself into Julies arms and the two of them sobbed together, Julie no longer able to hold back. Jack’s lip wobbled and he gulped before he broke down too and fell against his sisters. Alex tried to contain himself, but when River pulled him into a hug, a sob escaped him as well.

“Julie’s right. It’s not fair! Next time we meet him, he’s gonna die!”

The Doctor bounded back up the ramp and pulled everyone close together. “Hey, now, don’t be so sad! You’ve changed your friends’ life!”

“What? But you said that would be a bad thing!” Alex objected.

“If he learned too much about the specifics, yes, it would have. But meeting you, seeing your powers and your bravery, seeing how such things could protect against the monsters…it makes your friend do what few Kymellians have done in centuries.” The Doctor explained.

“What’s that?” Katie sniffled around the words.

“Become a Kymellian Sorcerer. Those few who master all those wonderful and amazing powers you have. Not only that, but the Technocrat isolates the Kymellians. Many of them are afraid of leaving their world, of meeting aliens. You’ve given your friend such a positive experience that he applies himself to become one of the rare explorers. He looks for Earth, because he remembers the children he met. He learns of its many cultures and falls in love with its stories and discovers your fathers’ formula. Sure, he inadvertently exposes your family to the Snarks…but the alternative would have been the destruction of your entire planet. Your race wouldn’t have survived a tragedy like that the way his had.”

The sniffling and tears slowly stopped as they absorbed his words. The children started to smile, thinking proudly of the fact that they had inspired Whitey the same way he had inspired them.

“I still wish he didn’t have to die.” Katie sniffed, transferring her hug from Julie to the Doctor.

“Maybe…” The Doctor looked over at River who narrowed her eyes but grinned as she got the gist of his expression. She nodded and hurried to the console, her movements calm but hurried.

“Maybe what, Doctor?” Alex asked, wiping at his eyes.

“Maybe your friend doesn’t _have_ to die. I can’t guarantee this will work…but we could give it a try. We need to be really careful to time this exactly right though, because we do _not_ want to change your history. Go tell River the exact day you met Whitey, and where. If you can remember the time, that would be even better!”

The children all started talking at once, their tears drying up as they gave as many details of that day as they could remember. The Doctor and River picked out what they needed and plugged it into the TARDIS, trusting that she would intuit the rest as needed, for the TARDIS was truly alive.


	6. Split Second Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna take some sensitive timing...

As the Doctor had noted, it was really difficult, but with River at the controls, the TARDIS remained silent and invisible. He grumbled about it halfheartedly, but in this case, he silently agreed it was completely necessary.

They emerged on Earth a little too early, the children watching themselves on the screen in awe. With another shift, they changed locations to appear on board the smart ship they knew as Friday. With the Chameleon Circuit working correctly for once, the grown Kymellian they knew as Whitey never noticed they were aboard, and neither did the sentient ship.

It was agony watching the crash, protected as they were inside the TARDIS that barely fit inside the small ship. It was fascinating to watch them meet the Kymellian for the first time. And nerve-wracking. This is where they had to time everything perfectly. The children remembered Whitey disappearing as he had died. They’d never met an alien before and thought it normal. A Yoda like trick.

“How do we do this, Doctor?” Alex asked. “Do you have a transporter like on Star Trek?”

“No…” He cocked his head thoughtfully, “that’s one thing the TARDIS doesn’t seem to have. However, you get ready to hit that switch when I tell you, okay Alex?” Alex nodded at the Doctor. “And River, you’ve got the medical bay ready for Kymellians?”

“Sure thing, Doc,” River grinned at him, “I’m going to head there now.”

The Doctor turned to Katie and Jack. “Once he’s onboard, time is of the essence. Have you memorized the route?” They nodded, “Good, you know what to do. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Doctor, what can I do?” Julie asked anxiously, the only one without a task.

“Why Julie, you can help me park the TARDIS back in your own year. What was the date again?” The Doctor already knew, but he wanted Julie to feel like she was helping too.

The Doctor turned back to the screen and watched carefully, attempting to pinpoint the right moment to – ah! “Now Alex!” he shouted. Alex stabbed downward and the TARDIS jumped, still invisible, to materialize around the grown up Aelfyre Whitemane, whose eyes were clenched shut as he clutched at himself. Jack grabbed the Kymellian and lifted him into his arms, the burden more awkward because of the size but not heavy with this gravity powers in use. Katie put her arms around Jacks waist and pushed, flying out of the room and down the corridor, bothered not at all by her double burden thanks to Jack. She left a rainbow trail behind her, dazzling the eyes of everyone else. Alex ran around the console to follow while Julie helped the Doctor just as he asked.

The TARDIS need to make another quick jump to make sure none of the children in the cockpit of the smart ship noticed it was there by accidentally bumping into it, and Julie hit the button to do that under his guidance. Then he took over, the Doctor entering in dates and times under Julie’s guidance, though it was hardly needed since he remembered well when he had shown up at their apartment in NYC.

As soon as the TARDIS was safely landed, Julie ran off to make sure Whitey was okay, the Doctor following swiftly.

The Doctor arrived to see Whitey – which he soon learned the Kymellian preferred to be called – blinking awake as the children surrounded him with happy smiles.

“My friends, I get to see you again!” Whitey was dazed, but quick to notice that the children around him now looked different than the ones that had just met. They were older, wearing Kymellian style outfits that he well remembered from his youth.

Katie wrapped arms around him, crying happy tears, “You’re alive! Whitey we saved you!”

“Was I dead?” The Kymellian asked slowly.

“We thought you were.” Alex said in a more subdued voice. “We met you and you gave us your powers and then…you disappeared. You were injured and we thought you had died. It’s been almost a year since then.” Alex looked up at the Doctor. “It’s because of the Doctor that you’re not dead.”

“Then I thank you Doctor, all of you, for I’m sure you all played a part in my rescue. But if…if you’re the future you, then that means…did it work?”

“Yeah!” Jack said enthusiastically. “We destroyed dads machine and we stopped the Snarks! It was hard, but, we did it!”

“Do you…want your powers back?” Julie asked tentatively. She wasn’t sure what answer she wanted. On the one hand, she enjoyed being special like that, of being able to save people and be a super hero. On the other hand, she was afraid it was taking their childhood away. It had turned Alex into a power-hungry dictator, and Katie, well Katie was just too young for some of the things she’d seen or done. Jack was always itching for a fight and Julie wasn’t sure that would change, powers or no powers, but Julie was tired of lying to her parents.

“No, those powers are yours now.” Whitey said. “Transferring the power wasn’t even something anyone had done before I did, and the only reason I tried, was because I knew it had already worked. I don’t think the power transfer is something that should be played with. It might be unstable.”

The children looked at each other with sad eyes and nodded. “Yeah, it is.” Alex stated flatly.

“What happened?” Whitey asked, afraid to know.

“Snarks.” Katie buried her face in Whitey’s bloodied clothes.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got a lot to catch up on, but now we’re actually allowed to tell it to you.” Alex said.

“Good, I look forward to it.” Whitey groaned a little. “I’m a little tired though.”

“Of course, you need to finish healing up.” River said, patting the Kymellian on his shoulder. Whitey’s eyes slipped shut and his head fell to the side, the elongated nose of his face hanging off the side of the narrow bed.

“Is he okay?” Julie asked anxiously.

“Yes, he’s fine. I’ve healed his injuries but he had a lot taken out of him. He needs to recover his energy reserves.”

The children all heaved a sigh of relief but refused to part from Whitey’s side. The Doctor beamed at them as River smiled back. “Good work, Doc.”

“It’s great to win one for once.” The Doctor agreed. “Even better, we brought someone back to life!”

“He wasn’t exactly Dead, sweetie.” River arched an eyebrow at him.

“Weeeell…mostly dead.” The Doctor hedged.

“Don’t even think about looking through his pockets for loose change.” She looked away from the Doctor and back at the happy scene before her.

“What?” The Doctor looked at her confused. She sighed.

“It’s a movie. Not actually sure if it’s out yet or not. But it will be soon. It’s practically a crime if you haven’t seen it yet.”

“You going to arrest me, Melody Pond…” The Doctor smirked and tried to hold back a laugh. “Guess it runs in the family.”

“You’re incorrigible Doctor!” River laughed.

“I know.” He smirked. The turned back to the children and had to smother a laugh as they realized the four of them had piled onto the bed with Whitey and fallen asleep, somehow finding a way to wedge onto the bed without either crushing the Kymellian or pushing him off the narrow bed. “Think we should make them a little more comfortable?”

With a nod, the two of the moved two more beds over – one for each side - and latched them together, creating a space to spread out so no one would roll over and fall to the floor. Not that it would hurt all that much, but it was always an unpleasant shock to fall out of bed when you were sleeping.

The TARDIS sat – still left in invisible mode – in the apartment of James and Margaret Power, hidden in the corner of Julie and Katie’s room patiently waiting for the children to wake up.

Hopefully, that would be before their parents arrived home and panicked at a seemingly empty apartment. It was a fear James and Margaret held daily, one that was proven to be real on more than one occasion.

But at least on this one, they could rest easy. The Doctor and River would keep an eye out for their parents returning and make sure the children were ‘home’ before any panic could ensue. They’d stick around as long as they needed to for Whitey to recover and decide what he wanted to do.

They had a feeling he’d want to stay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me know what you think? I know not a lot of people know Power Pack so this probably won't get very many hits...but I hope the few of you who came in for it liked it. Again, I wrote this for the kid at her request. She demanded it be about Eleven, River, Amy and Rory and to give ALL the kids a bigger part, not just Katie. Oh, and yeah, Cybermen.
> 
> Now she's writing her own story about how Power Pack are looking for the Doctor because they just saw the characters from a TV show appear in their world - not the actors, but the actual Sam, Dean, Cas and Crowley for Supernatural. 
> 
> Her first 'page' isn't half bad actually. The kids 11. What have I started? Lol


End file.
